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A thank you to Claude Julien

by
Adam Kimelman
/ NHL.com

I'm not a fan of making things personal in my work, but I feel I have to give some credit to Bruins coach Claude Julien for something he did last night following Boston's 3-2 overtime win. During the post-game press conference I asked him a question regarding his team being up 2-0 in a series after winning both games on the road, similar to what happened in the first round when Montreal won the first two games in Boston.

He misheard what I said and assumed I meant last year's series with the Flyers, and while I could tell he was agitated -- can't blame him, I'm sure he's pretty sick of hearing about losing to Philadelphia after being up 3-0 -- he gave the same thoughtful answer he always seems to give every question.

After he answered I clarified and said I meant the last series, not last year's series. He apologized, then gave another nice answer, which you can read in this story.

But after the Q&A session ended, he walked up to me, and very quickly and quietly apologized for mishearing my question, and shook my hand. I told him not to worry about it, that I wasn't in the least offended. But he apologized again and then was on his way back to the locker room.

The encounter lasted all of maybe 10 seconds, but it's just one more reason why I say hockey people -- be they players, coaches, managers or owners -- are some of the best people in sports.

Contact Adam Kimelman at akimelman@nhl.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK